Minimum Wage and Nike Marketing Phrase

IntroductionNike is in many ways the quintessential global corporation. Established in 1972 by former University of Oregon track star Phil Knight, Nike is now one of the leading marketers of athletic shoes and apparel on the planet. In 2006, the company has $15 billion in annual revenues and sold its products in some 140 countries. Nike does not do any manufacturing. Rather, it designs and markets its products, while contracting for their manufacture from a global network of 600 factories scattered around the globe that employ some 650,000 people.1 This huge corporation has made Knight into one of the richest people in America. The Nike marketing phrase “Just Do It!” has become as recognizable in popular culture as its “swoosh” logo or the faces of its celebrity sponsors, such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. For all of its successes, the company has been dogged for more than a decade by repeated and persistent accusations that its products are made in sweatshops where workers, many of them children, slave away in hazardous conditions for less than subsistence wages. Nike's wealth, its detractors claim, has been built upon the backs of the world's poor. To many, Nike has become a symbol of the evils of globalization—a rich Western corporation exploiting the world's poor to provide expensive shoes and apparel to the pampered consumers of the developed world. Nike's “Niketown” stores have become standard targets for anti-globalization protesters. Several nongovernmental organizations, such as San Francisco–based Global Exchange, a human rights organization dedicated to promoting environmental, political, and social justice around the world, have targeted Nike for repeated criticism and protests.2 News organizations such as CBS's “48 Hours” hosted by Dan Rather have run exposés on working conditions in foreign factories that supply Nike. Students on the campuses of several major U.S. universities with which Nike has lucrative sponsorship deals have protested against the ties, citing Nike's use of sweatshop labor. For its part, Nike has taken steps to counter the protests. Yes, it admits, there have been problems in some overseas factories. But the company has signaled a commitment to improving working conditions. It requires that foreign subcontractors meet minimum thresholds for working conditions and pay. It has arranged for factories to be examined by independent auditors. It has terminated contracts with factories that do not comply with its standards. But for all this effort, the company continues to be a target of protests and a symbol of dissent. The Case against Nike

Typical of the exposés against Nike was a “48 Hours” report that aired October 17, 1996.3 Reporter Roberta Baskin visited a Nike factory in Vietnam. With a shot of the factory, her commentary began: The signs are everywhere of an American invasion in search of cheap labor. Millions of people who are literate, disciplined, and desperate for jobs. This is Nike Town near what use to be called Saigon, one of four factories Nike doesn't own but subcontracts to make a million shoes a month. It takes 25,000 workers, mostly young women, to “Just Do It.” But the workers here don't share in Nike's huge profits. They work six days a week for only $40 a month, just 20 cents an hour. Baskin interviewed one factory worker, a young woman named Lap. Baskin told viewers: Her basic wage, even as sewing team leader, still doesn't amount to the minimum wage … She's down to 85 pounds. Like most of the young women who make shoes, she has little choice but to accept the low wages and long hours. Nike says that it requires all subcontractors to obey local laws; but Lap has already put in much more overtime than the annual legal limit: 200 hours. Baskin then asked Lap what would happen if she was sick or had something she needed to take care of, such as a sick relative, and needed to leave the factory? Through a translator, Lap replied:...

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The second key marketing strategy of Nike is to use “pyramid of influence” campaign for promotion. Nike has gotten a number of famous athletes, the great ones in their fields, under contract to serve as brand ambassadors such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James for basketball, Brazilian Soccer Team, Lance Armstrong for cycling, Tiger Woods for Golf…etc. As a result, today people all know the company by its flashy ads and sport celebrities. Furthermore, Nike...

...History of the MinimumWage
· 1938 -- The minimumwage was first enacted into law as part of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) of 1938. The original minimumwage applied to workers engaged in interstate commerce and the production of goods for interstate commerce. In 1938, this applied to roughly 11.0 million workers out of a total of 54.9 million workers. The minimumwage was set at $0.25 per hour.
· 1961 -- Amendments to the minimumwage law extend coverage primarily to employees in large retail and service trades as well as local transit, construction, and gasoline service station employees.
· 1966 -- Amendments to the minimumwage law extend coverage to state and local government employees of hospitals, nursing homes, and schools and to employees of laundries, dry cleaners, large hotels and motels, restaurants, and farms. Subsequent amendments extended coverage to the remaining federal, state and local government employee not protected in 1966, to certain workers in retail and service trades previously exempted, and to certain domestic workers in private household employment.
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The minimumwage sets a minimum on what employers are allowed to pay workers. In the United States, the federal minimumwage began in 1938 when the government required that covered workers in covered industries be paid at least 25 cents an hour. At that time, the minimumwage was about 40 percent of the average manufacturing wage. The minimumwage was raised occasionally, and by 1996 it had reached $4.25 per hour, which was only 33 percent of the average manufacturing wage rate. Because the minimumwage had declined relative to average earnings, President Clinton proposed and Congress passed a minimum-wage increase to $5.15 per hour in 1997.
This is an issue that divides even the most eminent economists. For example, Nobel laureate Gary Becker stated flatly, “Hike the minimumwage, and you put people out of work.” Another group of Nobel Prize winners countered, “We believe that the federal minimumwage can be increased by a moderate amount without significantly jeopardizing employment opportunities.” Yet another leading economist, Alan Blinder of Princeton and former economic adviser to President Clinton, wrote as follows:
“The folks who earn the...

...Minimumwage across the United States is low. I am not sure how they come up with these hourly wages but these minimumwages are not nothing anyone can live a normal life making. In the place where I live minimumwages is $7.25 per hour which is the state of Missouri. Our neighbor state of Kansas which is where I am from is the same low pay of $7.25 per hour. Washington has the highest rate I can tell of $9.04 per hour with Vermont in second with $8.46 per hour. $9.04 per hour is a lot better to live off of than $7.25. My guess would be the cost of living in your state would most likely determine the minimumwage. The minimumwages in some of these other states are just incredibly low like Georgia and Wyoming with $5.15 per hour. Now that just answer my earlier question because I know the cost of living in Georgia is high so $5.15 per hour will not make it in Georgia. I did notice Missouri is trying to fight for a raise in the minimumwages. The law leaders here understand that this is not enough for one person to survive let alone a whole family. (All wage numbers are from 2009-2011 Minimum-Wage.org and Marathon Studios Enterprises).
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...MinimumWage
Fireworks were lit once the announcement surfaced the internet that President Obama stated, “Tonight, let's declare that in the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one who works full-time should have to live in poverty.” (Obama) He was looking to raise minimumwage during his State of the Union address. The average middle class person would be elated that minimumwage was going to rise. The amount of increase would depend on your location. I was one of those people would were excited that minimumwage was going up but then I thought to myself, “If minimumwage for my job with Gap Inc was going to raise to ten dollars and I am currently making that amount as a supervisor then I am back at the bottom of the pyramid.” As much as raising minimumwage sounds like an excellent gesture it is not a good thing. The reason why minimumwage is not a good idea is because fewer jobs will be available, costs of living will be affected, and ultimately the value of the dollar will plummet.
There would be fewer jobs available because when companies hire people it is considered an expense to them. Continuing on the example I used prior with Gap Inc, I am a supervisor making ten dollars an hour in comparison to a sales associate who is making seven dollars and fifty cents. If...

...of MinimumWage
One might ask, what is minimumwage? Minimumwage is the lowest hourly amount an employer can pay an employee. There may be some exceptions based on the type of worker. There are two kinds of minimumwage rates, state and federal. Right now, the current minimumwage is $7.25 per hour. In some states, minimumwages are higher than the federal rate. Workers are paid the higher amount in those locations.
Minimumwage has been a hot subject among the policy makers and economists.
It has also been a hard and tight issue for the economists. This goes back as far as the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. Minimumwage was a politically debatable issue. In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt attempted to legislate a federal minimumwage, but it was taken down. Eventually, President Roosevelt won and Congress passed the FLSA. At that time minimumwage was set at 25 cents per hour. Since the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the United States has required that all firms that do at least $500,000 worth of business per year pay their co-workers a minimumwage. Minimumwage plays a big part in the cost of labor and hGet Access to...

...Econ 102  Research Paper
"The Minimum-Wage Controversy"
The Minimum-Wage Controversy When receiving paychecks, most employees will agree that one can never be paid enough, however, their employers may disagree with that statement and believe that they are getting paid far greater than they are entitled to. Thus creating a conflict between minimumwages. Minimumwage is the least amount of money that an employer may pay their employees. The federal minimumwage that is experienced by many members of the United States, currently is at $5.15, and is under debate as to whether or not it should be raised an additional dollar per hour, to make the minimumwage $6.15 (1). As a result of dissatisfaction with the minimumwage, debates whether or not the wage should be lifted to please more workers are currently taking place. The process to finding the perfect minimumwage to please both employee and employer are still under way, and has been an important controversial issue for many decades. For many, a raise in minimumwage would be fantastic, mainly employees. For others such as employers, they look down upon the idea of increasing the salary for their workers. The process for increasing the minimum...